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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fan · ground · bear · field · wind · spring · cabinet · kick

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spring — the season
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. spring — of water
  7. ground — crushed
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. field — a subject
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. spring — a coil
  12. ground — a position
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. ground — the earth
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. field — farmland
  19. kick — in football
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. field — for sport
  24. cabinet — ministers

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com